Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse
When timing chain, belt or tensioner failure gets reported
Owners of the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse report timing chain, belt or tensioner failure at a median of 107,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 95,000 miles and a quarter after 127,500 miles, from 34 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 120,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 75,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 140,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 65,460 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74,540 miles | 95,500 miles | 106,534 miles | 127,250 miles | 140,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $1,200–$4,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 7 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2016, at a median of 50,000 miles, and latest on the 2014 at 110,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 carries the most reports, with 128; the 2012 has 38. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I am second owner I got it with 60k miles on it, I stil have to paid 10k to the bank for my traverse and now the timing chain why me!!! Car has 113k miles on it. My traverse looks brand new I take good care of it. This is my family car please help!😢
Vehicle was traveling apx 25 MPH and slowing for a right turn. Car died in busy traffic at intersection on a city street. No warning lights, no oil light and no engine light. Restarted vehicle and it sounded horrible and had no power. Took it into a shop to find the engine had failed due to improper oil pressure. Spun rod bearing, and timing chain failure. Car ran perfect before this incident and I adhered to oil change schedule . I still owe $20,000 on it! Gm and chevy will not help, even tho I bought from a chevy dealership. Also had to replace power steering pump twice in a year. Blower motor quit working and wiper motor. After researching online, I find to these to be extremely common issues. There was a recall for timing chain and engine failure in 2009 to 2011, then again in 2013 but not 2012? Why chevy?! Cost to fix: $9,926. Almost half of what I owe on a vehicle ive had a year.
Vehicle was traveling apx 25 MPH and slowing for a right turn. Car died in busy traffic at intersection on a city street. No warning lights, no oil light and no engine light. Restarted vehicle and it sounded horrible and had no power. Took it into a shop to find the engine had failed due to improper oil pressure. Spun rod bearing, and timing chain failure. Car ran perfect before this incident and I adhered to oil change schedule . I still owe $20,000 on it! Gm and chevy will not help, even tho I bought from a chevy dealership. Also had to replace power steering pump twice in a year. Blower motor quit working and wiper motor. After researching online, I find to these to be extremely common issues. There was a recall for timing chain and engine failure in 2009 to 2011, then again in 2013 but not 2012? Why chevy?! Cost to fix: $9,926. Almost half of what I owe on a vehicle ive had a year.
Also reported on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse
Other driver assistance problem
Other engine problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other steering problem
Other electrical problem
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 38 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does timing chain, belt or tensioner failure happen on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse?
Across 34 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 107,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 95,000 miles and a quarter after 127,500 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is timing chain, belt or tensioner failure on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse?
38 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.7 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed